This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (59 messages)
Ellsworth It is a Sony product. I have just had a look at my copy and its documentation, but there is no 'phone number or address anywhere in it! I expect oone of the mail order companies in the States will be able to get it for you. It is…
Ross If you can email me a fax number or mail address I'll send you details of a new Windows program which does everything you are asking for, and then some. It comes with a runtime reader module which can be distributed for non-commercial purposes without royalty. Ric Day MBF…
Sergio ATI are in the Graphics Vendor (GO GRAPHVEN) forum, section 17. The do their monthly new driver uploads there, but are highly erratic when it comes to actually answering user questions. Good luck. Ric
David Thanks for the info. I don't mind your wearing the marketing beanie at all – just now I'm trying to learn everything I can about the options. Ric
Kathy Thanks for the info. I'll discuss it with my partners and try to decide which way to jump. Ric
#CD-ROM s'ware develop?
Message #52053
I'm preparing to go to market with a new Windows application. It is a system for managing, displaying and distributing information (text, graphic etc) and makes extensive use of pick lists, hypertext linking and similar. I am interested in the possibility of either developing CD-ROM titles using this software, or…
Terry I'm not person X, but I am definitely interested in the report as I'm involved with a new product in this field (July is targeted release). How do I get to the Seybold Report you mentioned? Thanks in advance Ric
Yves I agree with what Rob Kerbs says. In essence, Nintendo/Sega=games, period. My 13-year-old has a Nintendo; his closest friend has a Sega; and so far as I am aware there is nothing available for either system which I'd consider educational. Both my son and his friend use the machines…
Jim, >> difficulty in getting inventory .. yes, the problem was being experienced by US mail order houses. They also claimed OUP was holding them to a very tight pricing policy of no discounts. I was quoted a "best case" two- to three-week delivery period if I ordered. Out of…
Jan Your Chinese friends are having you on, as the saying goes, especially if they are from southern China. Cantonese, and most other dialects of Chinese, are heavily colloquial in everyday speech, the popularity of new expressions waxing and waning just about as quickly as they do in my teen…
Jim, the article in question appeared in the Globe & Mail a week ago Tuesday. It was sourced from The Guardian News Service (London) and was very specific in its reference to the OED2, describing it as "one of 1992's publishing events." The 2-disc reference may have been an error…
Bill, I have just jad a quick look through the Cinemania package. The only relevant item I could find is a little boxed item on page 3, headlined "Important Update Information." It reads: "Cinemania is updated regularly to keep the information as current and accurate as possible. To be notified…
I agree the reduced-type/standard-type OED versions are essentially the same where functionality is concerned. As for the markets – yes, OUP did a nice job of establishing a second market with the reduced-type version, especially the book club sales. >> with the experience of selling the … OED1 at a…
The price differential between the reduced-type OED and the standard version is pretty much 100 percent a reflection of costs: production and distribution, primarily. In the print version, the reduced-type OED could be considered less functional than the standard because of its small type, or I suppose one could argue…
Paul Agree 100 percent. Cinemania is the single most-used of the 50-odd CD-ROM disks lying around here. Everyone who visits wants to "check that one movie" and ends up hogging one of the PCs for ages. For anyone even vaguely interested in the movies, its IMHO a "must buy." Ric
#Street Atlas USA
Message #30203
Jim That's a feature the Delorme people did not know about at the last Comdex! I asked the guysd at the booth to show me "all" the features, and they took quite some time doing so, but never showed the street numbering! Wonder if it is an "extra" their programmers…
Dictionary Source
Message #30202
Lance: I'll Mail you my address details – would be interested in a copy of the catalog. Meantime look forward to the shipping price. Ric
MSCDEX
Message #29149
Sandy Seems to me the problem is almost certainly with that Tools-path statement; I suspect WFW is using that to get at not only the user's guide, but probably also other modules of the program. So, when you accept the "invalid path" message, WFW continues running until it needs something…
Sandy Have just been reading the string of messages on you MSCDEX problem and can suggest one other possible cause for it: When you go through the sequence you describe and Word for Windows fails to find that .DLL (you thought it might be TOOLS.DLL), I assume Word then fails…
Mark, I can't help jumping in here. Corel 3.0A is being replaced by Corel with 3.0B because of multiple bugs in the rev A version – Corel will supply any registered user with the rev B CD-ROM at no charge. IMHO the rev A version is nearly unusable – will…
Cheryl – yes, install Stacker first, then do the CD-ROM installation and you should not have a problem; just remember to set lastdrive= in config.sys to at least one more drive letter than you have in place after running Stacker. I am running a stacked big drive with virtual drives…
Mark – thanks for the address. Looks like they have been moving about. I just got the New York office address from Bill, so will go with that for now. Regds Ric
Bill – aaaargh! Quandary time. I *want* the OED (new version) on disk. Problem is, can I justify $905 for the pleasure? Can I convince my wife I am actually saving nearly two grand versus the paper edition, to say nothing of not needing new bookshelf space? All for the…
Lars – interesting numbers. I expect the $17 million cost must have a fairly large computer (hardware & software) component. If I recall correctly, a fair bit of that was donated, so I wonder if the $17 million was a true cost to OUP, or the "value" of the systems…
Bruce – no argument here. However, as I understand it Oxford University Press is pretty much of a commercial offshoot of Oxford University and I suspect their mission is profit, if only to feed back into the university. But, yes, I think pricing in the MS Bookshelf area would make…
Robin – no, I don't think libraries would violate their licenses; I do think they would tend to seek out vendors (eg, Bureau of Electronic Publishing) who might be able to offer lower prices than "publisher direct." There is a real problem with many of those "licenses" however, and that…
Yes, they are definitely now in the "digital domain." OUP moved all of their files from paper to computer a few years ago (not sure it was as long as 15 years back, but I believe the transition has been complete for some years already). That is really what we…
Bruce – For a great many years, their address was simply Oxford University Press, Ely House, London W.1, England. However, that adress is maybe 18 years old (I don't throw away old address books ), so may well have changed. Perhaps someone else on this forum has a reasonably current…
Pete – don't really have anything for trade in the kids' area, but would be interested in one of the ROMWARE disks. Want to quote a price? Alternatively, if you get some good "trade" offers on the ones you have, could you point me in the direction of where I…
Allen – yup, you can play the numbers a lot of ways. In some ways the OED situation resembles what happened with wristwatches back in the early 1980s. The Swiss did not believe in quartz-driven electronics – in their minds, watches were handmade, precision jewelry which was fairly accurate and…
Yes, many companies do charge more to commercial users. But, in these recessionary times, I suspect more commercial users are becoming a lot more aware of those prices and the alternatives which are often available. You only have to look at the growth of mail-order sales of PCs to corporations…
No problem, Bruce. I spent a lot of years in (print, mainly) publishing, and have some idea of the underlying costs of getting information onto bound sheets of paper. Somehow doubt OUP read this forum, but we can always hope! Maybe someone from one of the resellers here (Bureau, DAK?)…
Bill — yes, I know a new version is coming out. What I am praying for, is more realistic pricing from OUP. At $400 I would be a definite buyer; at $800 or more, it becomes a "do I really need this?" product and I will think long and hard…
Bruce — missed a couple of days on CIS due to work pressures, so sorry for the delayed reply. >> If you listed the disk at $80 … I don't sell it! I'm one of the very many potential buyers out there who (like you from the sound of your…
Hmmmm…! Lets see, if we "list" the OED at $400 and sell 20,000 copies and get to keep 50 percent after the retailers have had their bite, then subtract our production costs … well, gee, we've not quite made $4-million. On the other hand, we could list it at $950,…
Kathy – good point. Actually, I suspect a properly priced, mass-market disk would generate such a large revenue stream, it would be financing the paper version! Let's hope OUP moves into this century before it ends! Regds Ric
Frank/Lisa – exactly! The "tragedy" of the OED is I suspect rooted as much or more in the "snobbery" side of the equation as in the markup side. Having had a young brother and an uncle at Oxford itself, I have seen enough of that great institution's emphasis on "tradition"…
Allen – There are some good reasons for high hardback book costs – most book sellers return for refund what they have not sold, so a special interest book such as the Jungian analysis one you mention would probably justify a fairly high markup, especially if it were likely to…
Bruce – no, I have not come across a spell checker that works in TAPCIS, though I must admit I have not been looking all that hard. Maybe someone else reading these messages will make a recommendation? Regds Ric
It was a combination of Irish (Gaelic) and Dutch. I was borne in the "deep south" of Ireland at a time the Irish government and much of the local population was trying to revive the "native" language. My Irish nanny was married to a Hollander, so when she wasn't using…
Allen – amen. As I mentioned in another message, my eyes never could handle that magnifying glass plus ultralight paper of the "compact" edition. A friend had one and I browsed it just long enough to realise my need for larger type. The CD-ROM, one the other hand, with nice…
Six?! Back to basics, evidently. I do love spell checking software (English is/was not my first language, though I'm quite comfortable with it), but I have not figured out how to run a spell checker inside my Recon editor. Sigh. Regds Ric
Agreed, the *value* is surely arbitrary – "eye of the beholder" territory. As to cost of collection: 1. it is incremental in the sense OUP has been building this for about a century; at the same time, the intervals between editions have been stunningly long, so the cost per annum…
Reese – appreciate the quick reply; will read it just as soon as I get out of Recon (have been off CIS for over 4 months while moving my family from Hong Kong to Canada, so am doing some _major_ catch-up forum reading/scanning! Regds Ric
Given the etymology is of Romanic provenance (sacrilegium in the Latin nominative case, itself from sacrilegus) through Old French to the current English usage, I would suggest 'sacrilegious' would be the word the OED would approve. The Latin stem 'sacri-' has been preserved through all stages of the word's usage,…
Reese – picked up your .BIN file from Mail this evening. Now my question is, what is the file – .ZIP, .EXE or …? I suppose I could look at it with a sector editor and figure it out, but its getting late and I'm in Recon, so this message…
Yes, I would be interested — how do I apply?
I'm constantly amazed that OUP has priced the OED so high for so long. When the CDROM version first became available it was a new technology where many reference products were priced high, but that is no longer the situation. Using grants and other sources of money, OUP went completely…
Page 1 of 2